Welfare Reform on the Web (July 2006): Services for the disabled - UK

Human capital, social capital, entrepreneurship and disability: an examination of some current educational trends in the UK

A. Pavey

Disability and Society, vol.21, May 2006, p. 217-229

Entrepreneurship and enterprise education are currently strongly promoted by the UK government. Article discusses how these concepts could be adapted to help disabled people and people with learning difficulties to develop independent and empowered lives. It points out that severely disabled people for whom work is not an option in fact provide employment for a large number of professionals working in needs assessment, support and care services to the point where a disability industry is emerging. In this way they contribute to the economy as service consumers.

Overcoming disabling barriers: 18 years of Disability and Society

L. Barton (editor)

Abingdon: Routledge, 2006

The book provides a route map to the development of thinking in disability studies over the last 18 years. It includes over 20 seminal articles from the journal Disability and Society, which are divided into threes sections which mirror the three central themes:

Disability studies – the articles in this section illustrate clearly the debates and challenges that have emerged within the field over the last two decades.

Policy – this section offers a snapshot of social policy that has impinged on the lives of disabled people in many parts of the world.

Research issues – this section brings together articles that reveal the inequalities between disabled and non-disabled people and advocate new methods and research practices.

The book is an introduction to many theoretical perspectives on disability including historical, philosophical, feminist, etc, using their insights to unmask and contest the paradigms, practice and power of the rehabilitation professions. The book is focused on disability and rehabilitation, and explores their inter-relationships, the consequences of being classed as deviant from valued norms, and the role of rehabilitation in the perpetuation of injustice. Issues such as the nature of the body, the idea of independence, the rehabilitation process, evidence based practice and client-centred practice are also explored.